Multiple-user smoking apparatus

ABSTRACT

A smoking apparatus includes a stem having a base at a lower end thereof coupled to a bottle containing a fluid and a neck extending upwardly from the base. A central passage extends through the stem from a burner cup disposed atop the neck to the interior of the cup. Smoking hoses are connected to the stem to permit users to draw smoke from the burner cup, through the central passage, through the water, and out of the hose. The hoses are connected to the stem by one-way fittings which permit air to be drawn out of the bottle and into the hose, but prevent air from being drawn through the hose and into the bottle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a smoking apparatus, and more particularly, to a smoking apparatus that may be smoked by more than one smoker at a time.

2. Description of the Related Art

Pipes are often used to smoke materials such as tobacco. Moisture from a fluid may be mixed with the pipe smoke to ameliorate harshness and to impart a pleasant flavor or aroma to the smoke. So-called hookah pipes are smoking apparatuses which mixed pipe smoke with moisture.

A hookah pipe has a bottle containing fluid. The bottle may be made of glass, such as crystal. A stem is mounted to the bottle. The stem includes a passage conveying smoke from a burner cup on top of the stem through a down tube projecting from the stem and into the fluid in the bottle. The stem is preferably made of metal. The smoke drawn through the stem is expelled from the down tube beneath the surface of the fluid and allowed to bubble up through the fluid to the surface, absorbing moisture as it rises to the fluid surface. A second passage formed within the stem conveys the now-moistened smoke out to a hose. A smoker smokes the hookah pipe by drawing smoke through the hose.

Hookah pipes may have a plurality of hoses—each with a separate fitting connecting them to the stem—thereby permitting multiple smokers to use the pipe. When one smoker is using the pipe, the unused hoses are disconnected and the fittings replaced with, for example, a stopper or a pressure-release valve. The stopper prevents air from being drawn through an unused fitting into the stem when the smoker inhales, bypassing the burner and destroying the draft. If, on the other hand, the hookah pipe is intended to be smoked by more than one smoker, each smoker is provided with a separate hose. Multiple smokers smoke the hookah pipe by inhaling alternately through their respective hoses. Smokers who are not currently inhaling may squeeze their hoses to block them, preventing air from being drawn through them down into the stem while the other smoker is inhaling. If one of the non-inhaling users forgets to pinch off his hose, or does so inadequately, the inhaling smoker will draw mostly smokeless air through the open hose, rather than smoke through the burner cup.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A primary object of the invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the related art described above by providing a multiple-user smoking apparatus.

The invention is embodied in a smoking apparatus comprising a bottle, with a stem attached thereto with a burner cup mounted atop the stem, and smoking hoses connected to the stem by one-way flow fittings. The bottle contains a fluid and has an opening at an upper end thereof. The stem has a base and a neck extending upwardly from the base with a central passage extending through the base and the neck. A down tube extends from said base in communication with the central passage. The based is secured to the bottle with the down tube extending through the opening of the bottle with a terminal end of the down tube disposed beneath the surface of the fluid contained in the bottle. Two or more one-way flow fittings are secured to the stem in communication with an interior of the bottle, and each one-way flow fitting is constructed and arranged to permit air flow out of the interior of the bottle through the fitting and to restrict air flow into the interior of the bottle through the fitting. A hose is connected to each one-way flow fitting and is constructed and arranged to permit a user to draw on one end of the hose to draw air through the burner cup, through the central passage and down tube, through the fluid contained in the bottle, and into the user's hose.

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side, cross-sectional view of a multiple-user smoking apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a one-way flow fitting for use with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 shows a side, cross-sectional view of a multiple-user smoking apparatus according to an alternate embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a multiple-user smoking apparatus 100, e.g. a hookah pipe according to a first embodiment of the invention. Multiple-user smoking apparatus 100 includes a stem 102 having a base 130 and a neck 124 projecting up from the base 130. A lower end 104 of base 130 is connected to a bottle 106 containing a fluid 108, for example it may be disposed insertably in bottle 106. Bottle 106 may be made of a material selected from the group consisting of acrylic, glass, Formica, quartz, plastic, and crystal.

Stem 102 includes a central passage 110. A plurality of peripheral passages 112 are formed around central passage 110 the base 130 of the stem 102, and communicate with an interior of bottle 106. A proximate end 114 of a hose 116 is connected to the stem 102 at a peripheral passage 112 by a one-way flow fitting 150.

As an alternative to discrete peripheral passages 112, an interior plenum may be defined within the base 130 of the stem 102. The interior plenum would be open to the interior of the bottle 106, and the down tube 118 would extend through the plenum. All hoses would be in communication with the plenum.

An upper end 120 of the down tube 118 is connected to the lower end 104 of the base 130 and extends into the bottle 106 below the surface of the fluid 108. The down tube 118 may be threaded at its upper end 120 for connecting it with mating threads (not shown) formed in the base 130. A burner cup 126 is mounted (such as by inserting an end thereof) at an upper end 132 of stem neck 124.

Bottle 106 may contain fluid 108, such as water or wine or a flavored water such as rose water.

In operation, one of several users of apparatus 100 inhales from a distal end of one of hoses 116. As long as the hoses 116 held by the other, non-inhaling users of smoking apparatus 100 are substantially closed off, the inhalation creates a draft through the smoking user's peripheral passage 112 from the interior of bottle 106. The draft creates a partial vacuum within the interior of bottle 106, reducing a pressure at the surface of fluid 108 and allowing wet smoke from fluid 108 to bubble up and escape. This in turn reduces the partial pressure within fluid 108, causing in turn a partial vacuum in central passage 110 and down tube 118 to burner cup 126 and drawing dry smoke down into fluid 108.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the one-way flow fitting 150 includes a stopper 128 (e.g., a ball) is disposed within the fitting body. The fitting 150 is secured to the base 130 of the stem 102 (preferably threaded) in alignment with one of the peripheral passages 112. An interior space with a frustoconical surface 152 is defined within the fitting body. A narrow end 136 of the surface 152, closest to the base 130, has a width that is less than that of the stopper 128 (i.e. the stopper diameter) and a wide end of the surface 152, further from the base than the narrow end, has a width that is greater than that of the stopper 128.

When one of several users of smoking apparatus 100 inhales from a distal end of one of hoses 116, stopper 128 in the fitting 150 associated with that hose 116 is drawn away from narrow end 136 of the interior frustoconical surface 152 by the draft, allowing wet smoke to traverse the passage 112, through the fitting 150 and around the stopper 128, and into the hose 116. Stoppers 128 in fittings 150 associated with the hoses 116 held by the other non-inhaling users of apparatus 100, on the other hand, remain at small end 136, retained there by the partial vacuum created in the interior of bottle 106. Thus the peripheral passages 112 associated with the hoses 116 held by the non-inhaling users of smoking apparatus 100 are substantially closed off by the stopper 128 wedged in the narrow end 136. Accordingly, the non-inhaling smokers need do nothing to close off their respective tubes. The draft created by the inhaling smoker will automatically close off all but his own smoking tube.

A pin 156 (e.g. a small screw), or other structure, is preferably disposed in a wall of fitting 150 to prevent stopper 128 from being drawn into hose 116 by inhalation.

The foregoing has described the principles, embodiments, and modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments described above, as they should be regarded as being illustrative and not restrictive. It should be appreciated that variations may be made in those embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. 

1. A smoking apparatus comprising: a bottle containing a fluid, said bottle having an opening at an upper end thereof; a stem having a base and a neck extending upwardly from the base with a central passage extending through said base and said neck, a down tube extending from said base in communication with said central passage, said based being secured to said bottle with said down tube extending through the opening of said bottle with a terminal end of said down tube disposed beneath the surface of the fluid contained in said bottle; a burner cup disposed above the stem in communication with said central passage; two or more one-way flow fittings secured to said stem in communication with an interior of said bottle, each said one-way flow fitting being constructed and arranged to permit air flow out of the interior of said bottle through said fitting and to restrict air flow into the interior of said bottle through said fitting; and a hose connected to each one-way flow fitting and constructed and arranged to permit a user to draw on one end of said hose to draw air through the burner cup, through the central passage and down tube, through the fluid contained in said bottle, and into the user's hose.
 2. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, said stem further including two or more peripheral passages formed in said base with a first end thereof in communication with the interior space within said bottle and a second end exiting from said stem, each said one-way flow fitting being attached to said stem at the second end of a corresponding one of said peripheral passages.
 3. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, wherein said one-way flow fitting comprises a fitting body defining an interior space with a stopper movable within said interior space between a first position permitting air flow out of the interior of said bottle through said fitting and a second position restricting air flow into the interior of said bottle through said fitting.
 4. The smoking apparatus of claim 3, wherein the interior space within said fitting includes a frustoconical surface having a first end proximate said stem and a second end further removed from said stem than said first end, the width of the first end being smaller than the width of said second end, and said stopper comprises a ball having a diameter larger than the width of the first end of said frustoconical surface and smaller than the width of the second end of said frustoconical surface.
 5. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, comprising further a pressure relief valve connected to said stem and in communication with the interior of said bottle.
 6. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, wherein each said one-way flow fitting comprises means for preventing a draft from entering said bottle from said hose and permitting a draft to enter said hose from said bottle. 